Front-porch shooter told cops, dispatcher he fired accidentally

DETROIT – After he shot Renisha McBride, Theodore Wafer told police and a 911 operator he didn’t know there was a round in his shotgun when it discharged.

The prosecution played audio and video of Wafer’s discussions with Dearborn Heights Sgt. Rory McManmon after the officer arrived at Wafer’s house on Outer Drive near Dolphin early Nov. 2. He allegedly shot and killed 19-year-old Renisha McBride at about 4:30 a.m. that day on the front porch.

On the second day of his trial, jurors heard Wafer tell an officer the gun discharged accidentally when he opened the front door that morning. The shot struck McBride in the face and killed her.

“I didn’t know there was a round in there,” he told police.

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Wafer called 911 shortly after the fatal shot and told an operator he’d shot someone on his front porch. The operator asked where he lived but Wafer merely said “thank you” and hung up.

The 911 dispatcher testified Thursday he called Wafer back – the call was not recorded – and got pretty much the same response as the first officer to arrive at his house: Wafer said the gun fired and he was not aware it was loaded.

“I shot by accident,” he told dispatcher Valentine Peppers. “I did not know the gun was loaded.”

Wafer, 55, is charged with second-degree murder, manslaughter and felony use of a firearm. He could be sentenced to life in prison if convicted on the murder charge.

His attorneys contend Wafer was roused from a deep sleep and rooted around his house, unable to find his cellphone while he heard banging on the front and side doors of the house. Attorney Cheryl Carpenter told the jury Wafer was convinced someone was trying to break in when he opened the door and fired.

The defense plans to call former Wayne County Medical Examiner Werner Spitz to discuss how heightened fear can overtake a person.

Later in the day, Dearborn Heights police Cpl. Mark Parrinello testified he could see through the peephole in Wafer’s front door when he arrived to investigate the house. The defense said the peephole was broken at the time of the shooting during its opening statement.

McBride crashed her car on Bramell in Detroit, several blocks from Wafer’s house, about four hours before she was shot. Two women testified Thursday they saw the teen near the car and she appeared disoriented.

One woman said McBride repeatedly said she wanted to go home.

Prosecutor Danielle Hagaman-Clark began the trial Wednesday saying she didn’t need to prove Wafer wanted to kill McBride. Instead, she said she merely needed to prove Wafer created the conditions that led to her death.

Jurors saw a photo of McBride dead on Wafer’s porch seconds into the opening statement.

Wafer’s jury is seven men and seven women. The two alternates will be selected after closing arguments.

The trial will continue Monday morning before Wayne County Circuit Judge Dana Hathaway.